In 2025, Trey Yesavage began the year at Class-A Dunedin and ended it on the mound at Rogers Centre in the World Series.

Nolan Perry began 2026 in Dunedin. He didn’t quite have the same rocket ride as Yesavage, finishing the season at Double-A New Hampshire, but his ascent might have been even more stunning considering the starting point.

Before the 2025 season, MLB Pipeline ranked Yesavage the 88th-best prospect in MLB. He was a first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of East Carolina. After signing for over $4M, he was expected to quickly reach the Majors, and he did.

Before the 2026 season, Perry was coming off Tommy John surgery and wasn’t even ranked in the Blue Jays Top 30.

He finished the year as Toronto’s #2 prospect behind only JoJo Parker, and 90th in MLB. He and Sean Keys were also named the Blue Jays' top prospects of the year.

Nolan Perry 2026 MiLB Season:

2.50 ERA | 82.2 IP | 117 SO | .181 AVG

The righty pitcher was named the top pitching performer by MLB Pipeline. pic.twitter.com/3oXpOWjUnA

— Milb Central (@milb_central) October 23, 2026

Perry is far more likely to start the year in Buffalo than in Toronto, especially if the Blue Jays sign a marquee free agent pitcher. He'll likely throw only 110-120 innings next year, so Toronto may prefer to manage his workload in the minors and save his Major League innings for later in the year.

The table below compares Yesavage's 2025 stats and Perry's 2026 stats across Class A, High-A, and Double-A. Perry does not have Yesavage's strikeout stuff, though he is certainly no slouch at 12.7 K/9 across three levels.

From Caveman To Blue Jay

The Blue Jays drafted Perry in the 12th round in 2022 out of Carlsbad High School in Carlsbad, NM. Fellow Caveman Trevor Rogers was drafted out of Carlsbad High School in the 1st round in 2017, and Perry looked up to the now-free agent Rogers.

To be clear, neither Perry nor Rogers is a neanderthal. The Carlsbad High School team nickname is the Caveman (or Cavegirls for the women's teams), a direct tribute to Carlsbad Caverns National Park just outside the city.

Perry turned the high school's baseball field into his personal man cave, posting a 115-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 66 innings during his senior year. He was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Mexico and led Carlsbad High to the State Championship.

A Rough Beginning in Pro Ball

Perry had committed to Texas Tech but signed with Toronto in part due to a $200K signing bonus.

His professional career got off to a slow start. He got knocked around in the Florida Complex League in 2023, posting a 7.28 ERA, and followed that up in 2024 by walking 39 batters in 46 innings in Dunedin. He posted a tidy 2.93 ERA despite a 1.61 WHIP and walking 18.8% of the batters he faced.

He tore his UCL in August, 2024 and missed all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery.

A Rapid Ascent

When he returned in 2026, his grueling rehab began to pay off.

On April 16th, he struck out a career-high 12 for Dunedin, allowing just one run over five innings. More encouragingly, he didn't walk a single batter as he won FSL Pitcher of the Week.

On May 3rd, after just 21 innings with 32 strikeouts, 6 walks, and a minuscule .67 WHIP, he was promoted to High-A Vancouver.

By the end of June, he was in Double-A New Hampshire, where he ended the season with a flourish. In his last nine innings with the Fisher Cats, he struck out 14 and allowed just one hit.

As he racked up strikeouts, he also rocketed up the prospect rankings. After starting the season unranked among the Blue Jays' Top 30 prospects, he entered the Top 100 Prospects across MLB by July. In August, he rose to Toronto's #2 after the Angels traded for then-Blue Jays #2 prospect Arjun Nimmala.

Perry's Splitter is Still A Work in Process

While not nearly the issue they were pre-Tommy John, walks were still a concern for Perry in 2026, with 3.5 walks per nine innings.

Perry has a four-pitch arsenal. He ranks the four-seamer his best pitch. His velocity is in the mid-90s, but it plays up due to high spin and a lot of ride.

Despite his own ranking, Perry's curveball might be his best pitch. He throws a 12-to-6 version to get ahead of hitters, and then a harder one to put them away. In Dunedin, only three of his 71 curveballs were put into play.

The curveball is a family heirloom. His father, Tim, pitched for three years as a Minor Leaguer in the Padres system in the late 90s and taught his son. Tim never made it past A ball, but the curve he taught his son has already helped the 23-year-old Perry reach Double-A.

Perry has a plus slider and debuted a splitter in 2026, though he tried several grips and is still refining it. The splitter, though, gave him a weapon against lefties and could separate him as a starter from a future bullpen role. Pipeline grades the fastball, curve, and slider 55, while the splitter is a 45.

Nolan Perry twirls a gem for the Double-A @FisherCats 💎

5 IP | 0 H | 0 ER | 2 BB | 8 K

MLB’s No. 95 prospect (@BlueJays) sports a 10.3 K/9 and .171 BAA over his past six starts: pic.twitter.com/qWbZXOQQfB

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 5, 2026

Befitting a former Caveman, Perry is not a big analytics guy. He thrives on routine and having a game plan. Still, he may be the most impressive development story and rehab story for the Blue Jays.

He returned from Tommy John surgery throwing 2mph harder than before, and the Blue Jays' coaches have helped him improve his off-speed pitches and establish his routine.

Perry will be an interesting story when camp starts in the spring. He will likely start the 2027 season in Buffalo, but he will likely be in Toronto by summer.

The Blue Jays needed an AL High 41 pitcher in 2026. Sixteen pitchers started games, with 11 as primary starters rather than openers.

The forgettable quartet of Patrick Corbin, Eric Lauer, Jameson Taillon, and Spencer Arrighetti started 26 games for Toronto in 2026.

Everyone focuses on who will make the rotation coming out of camp, but giving starts to promising prospects rather than struggling veterans could be the difference between playing baseball in October and playing golf.

And perhaps, like Yesavage last year, Perry will be starting games in October at Rogers Centre.